Unnatural Appearances
by Eva246
Summary: Being in a prestigious school with a bunch of boys is hard, but being disguised as one is even harder. Wattpad AND Fanfiction
1. Chapter 1: Encounter (NEW VERSION)

**Encounter**

Kade Everdeen slowly slid the silver dorm key into the doorknob. He waited patiently for the click of the door unlocking, but there was none. Panicking, the boy clumsily dropped the key onto the floor. It made a small noise, panicking him even more.

"My first day of school and I can't even get into my dorm room properly!"

It took about five minutes before the doorknob was finally unlocked. Kade took a small step inside the medium-sized room. The bright sunlight was shining through the glass windows. Two simple beds laid on the left side of the room. Bunk beds. Kade sighed unhappily at the terrifying idea of the upper bed collapsing on top of him. Surely, he would end up having the lower bed. The poor boy continued drowning himself in unpleasant thoughts until the stern voice of a male interrupted him.

"What the hell are you doing?" The so called 'intruder' asked.

He's my roommate?

The boy had blond hair, blue eyes, and was at a tall height. Even if he was covered with water dripping from his doused shirt, Kade admited to himself that his supposed roommate was rather...handsome. No, I can't think that way. I'm a boy! A girl disguised as a boy, but that doesn't count, right? Katniss Everdeen is long gone. I'm Kade now.

"Well, are you going to answer me?"

"Oh! Uh," Katniss paused, unsure of what to say. "I'm Kade."

"Everdeen? As in the scholarship student?" The blond boy responded with little to no effort. He abruptly tossed his green duffel bag to the floor.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Doesn't matter."

Katniss raised an eyebrow at him while he took off out the door with his jacket. She walked to the lower bunk bed in the room, jumping onto the soft white mattress. The sound of the clock ticking could be heard a feet away from her. She arched her head to the left to look at it.

7:03

Seven O' three?

I'm late for class!

Katniss quickly shuffled through the room for her red worn out backpack filled with all of her school books. She grabbed her backpack by the straps and raced into the halls, past the coffee shop, and into the main building. The classroom was nearly filled. Katniss stepped inside, clutching her books tightly to her chest. She carefully sat down in one of the seats in the front row.

Shortly after she arrived, Katniss noticed a boy followed by another boy entering the classroom. The one student was as tall as the blonde boy from that morning. This boy though had short brown hair and his gray eyes quickly locked onto her brown ones. Without warning, he spoke up.

"Hey Calloway, I think your roommate would make such a great addition to my side, don't you?" He said it with such confidence. It was enough for some of the other students to nod their heads or make some sort of remark to agree with him.

Katniss didn't notice it before, but the blond boy from her dorm room was standing a few feet away across from her. He was followed by another student reading a science magazine. There it was, two students against two students. All of which whose names were unknown to her. Befoe Katniss knew it, the four eventually began to bicker with each other.

"He's my roommate, Hawthorne. I suggest you stay away."

The bickering didn't go on for too long, and Katniss found herself staring at the face of the brown haired boy. He seemed gentle, smiling down warmly at her.

"Hi," He started. "I'm Gale Hawthorne. You must be Cato's new roommate, Kade Everdeen." Gale held out his hand, urging her to shake it. Katniss placed her hand in his as he shook it gently.

"Who's Cato?"

Gale chuckled softly. He was clearly amused. "Cato Calloway is your roommate. Figures he wouldn't introduce himself to you." Gale sat down in the desk beside her. Apparently, their conversation hit a dead end.

"Class, open up your books to page 374." The classroom teacher entered the room, placing his coffee mug and teacher's book on his desk. He was a short and stubby man. The bow tie he was wearing was red with yellow polkadots. It seemed almost silly to even stare at it.

Psst.

Psst.

Katniss raised an eyebrow at the sudden sound. She turned her head around a little, scanning the students at the back of the class. One particular student sitting directly behind her had bronze-colored hair. He made a heart sign using his hands and was whispering the words 'Call me'.

What on earth? Is this some kind of joke? I'm a GUY. He's a GUY. Is he gay? Katniss was bewildered. She directed her attention back to the board, only to find herself staring at the same red polka dotted bow tie the teacher was wearing.

"Mr. Everdeen, care to explain today's lesson?" The man had his arms crossed against his chest. He looked somewhat annoyed at her.

"N-no. Sorry."

Katniss stepped down the marble steps outside the school.

"You joined the enemy? I can't believe it!" The bronze haired boy from the classroom ran to her. Katniss groaned inwardly. For all she could know, the whole scheme could be some kind of prank to set her up.

"Who are you and who is this 'enemy' anyway?"

"Cato and Gale, the top two rivals of the school? You need to catch up with all the news, Kade. Anyway, away from that. I'm Finnick Odair - the hottest guy in the entire school. Although not as hot as those two, but who cares about them? I'm single and avaliable. My number is 612.728.189-"

"No thanks!" Katniss ran away from Finnick in another direction. She could hear him whine unhappily, yelling out "I think I just got rejected!" into the air.

Luckily the dorms were in the same exact area as she was. Katniss hurried up the steps straight to her dorm room's door. Unlocking it wasn't the problem, the boy inside it was. Katniss gasped lightly at Cato who was dropping books roughly onto his bed.

"Sorry! I thought no one was here." She apologized quickly; her face a light shade of pink.

Cato didn't respond. He shoved some of his school notes into a blue binder. They looked more like doodles, but it was none of Katniss' business to know exactly what they were.

"S-someone told me your name. You never really gave me a proper introduction." She said weakly.

"You won't be here long enough, so what's the point?" He headed into their bathroom, leaving her in complete silence.


	2. Chapter 1: Encounter (OLD VERSION)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does.

**Author's Note:** If anyone got an email about this story being updated or such, I was just fixing a mistake from chapter one. Good news though, chapter two is almost done!

* * *

**Chapter One**

Kade Everdeen slowly slid the silver key into the doorknob, and heard the click of the door, unlocking before him. Hesitantly, he pushed it open. The dorm room was rather plain. Two beds were placed aside from each other. He assumed the right one was for him since the other was already laid out. He sat down plump on the soft yellow bed, and closed his eyes. _Katniss Everdeen. No, Kade Everdeen. _It was a secret. _Her_ secret. Kade Everdeen was actually a girl. She was too lost in her thoughts to realize that there was another boy present in the room.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Katniss jerked her eyes open. She stared at the boy in front of her. He was a tall handsome boy, and was probably her roommate. It took her a while to process the whole idea that she was still pretending to be a boy.

She quickly responded to him, a little more eager than she wanted to be, "Thinking! I'm Kade Everdeen!" _Oh no, I must have sounded like such an energetic freak. Why do bad things always happen to me of all people?_

Her roommate stared at her with a look of disbelief. "Right...I'm Cato. Cato Calloway."

She stared at him whilst he stared right back at her. _I can't believe he's my roommate._

* * *

Cato watched as the boy in front of him shifted uncomfortably. He had brown hair, light blue eyes, and had noticeably feminine features. _Is this kid a boy or a girl? He'll be gone by the end of the week. _Breaking the silence, he spoke up.

"I'm going to catch up with my friends. See you."

He quickly grabbed a blue jacket from the coat rack, and raced out the door. He crossed through the halls, and went outside of the school building. His black corvette was parked in the parking lot. The school banned anyone from going anywhere during the school week, but the weekends were free for all. Cato walked past the lot and toward his best friend, Peeta Mellark. The other blond was reading a magazine on a brown bench under the school's tall oak tree.

Cato raised an eyebrow at him. "How come every time I see you, you're always reading something?" He took a sit next to his best friend, peering into the magazine.

Peeta frowned, "Heard you got a new buddy. How is he?"

"Nothing special." Cato grinned. "He probably won't help us wipe the smirk off that cocky Hawthorne" He watched as a boy was hysterically chasing another boy. Amused, he laughed. "Seen Finnick today?" Finnick Odair was known to be the one person everybody tried to avoid. He had a strange 'hobby' of harassing other students much to their dismay.

"I've seen him all day. Too much, actually."

Cato stared down at his watch, and said, "Ah, we should get to class early, man." He pulled on Peeta's arm, tagging him along.

* * *

Katniss rushed to the classroom, and abruptly dropped her books on top of a nearby desk. She was twenty minutes early, but hated risking being late to class. She sat in the oddly uncomfortable green seat, until a rough and masculine voice caught her attention.

"Hey Calloway, your roommate looks nice. Maybe he would make a great addition to our side." She saw as a tall boy with brown hair entered the room with another boy beside him. They approached Cato and his friend, standing together around the teacher's desk. Cato made his way to the brown-haired boy, followed by the blonde boy behind him. Katniss observed the bunch.

Cato sneered. "Knock it off, _Hawthorne_. Let him decide where he wants to be."

Katniss ignored the fact that they were obviously talking about her. _I wonder why they're so hateful about each other. _She tapped her pencil on the desk, bored out of her mind. A large figure blocked herview. She looked up and met the gray eyes of the male student bickering earlier with Cato.

"Hi, I'm Gale Hawthorne." He smiled gently at her.

"Kade K-Kade Evergreen. Deen. Everdeen." She had managed to say her name, but in the worst way possible.

Gale looked at her. "You're with us, starting today."

"What? I don't rem-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the teacher came in. He was a short and stubby man, and was noticeably annoyed for some unknown reason.

"Class, today we will be studying about..."

Katniss felt the teacher echoing away while she was still thinking about the previous event. _What was that all about?_

* * *

"I can't believe your with the enemy!" A male student with light brown shaggy hair was running up toward her. Katniss had no idea what on earth he was talking about. She didn't recall ever joining the 'enemy'.

"What do you mean?"

The boy laughed, clearly amused. "Oh come on. You joining Gale's side, of course!"

"I didn't join a side at all!" She protested.

"Oh, better tell Cato later then. He's furious right now."

Katniss continued walking, but remembered hat she didn't know who she was talking to. "Who are you, anyway? And why do Cato and Gale hate each other so much?" She turned around to face the mystery person, and looked at him in the eyes.

The boy smiled flirtatiously at her. "Another story for another time, but I can tell you my name. I'm Finnick Odair, the hottest guy in the whole school. My number is 879-751-"

She quickly cut him off. "No thanks!" Katniss ran away, eager to find another place away from Finnick.

* * *

Cato and Peeta walked down the marble stairs and onto the grassy lawn, while noticing Finnick was standing with a sad expression on his face. Cato walked up to him with his hands tucked into his pockets.

"Finnick, what is it this time?"

Finnick sighed dramatically. "I think I just got rejected!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** I know this plot line is used a lot, but what if we just add in a little Hunger Games twist? I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter!


	3. Chapter 2: Alarm Clocks (NEW VERSION)

**Alarm Clocks**

Katniss turned to the left side of her bunk bed, laying her head closely on the soft cushioning pillow. She opened her eyes slowly and stared up at the wood separating her and the sleeping Cato above. Fortunately, the boy didn't snore - at least not loud enough for Katniss to hear it. She quietly got up and opened the small wardrobe next to their beds. The lamp on top of it was already off, the alarm clock read 6:23 or most commonly known as too early to go to school, and the drawers were left untouched. That is, until Katniss placed one particular item inside of it.

Is it still there?

Hesitantly, she opened the bottom drawer. The only thing there was a photo, but it meant everything to her. Katniss gently touched the photo, lifting it up into the air. The sunlight made the image even brighter than it was supposed to be. The scene depicted a man smiling happily while holding a woman, his wife, in his arms. In other words, they were her mother and father. It was during the good times when she and her sister were playing with the neighborhood kids. Their parents were out fishing for dinner at the time. The only thing Katniss forgot though was the person behind the camera. Was it Patrick who took the picture?

"Dad, why did you have to leave us?" Katniss whispered as she moved the photo to its original spot.

Wanting to forget about her past, Katniss went back to her bed. She pulled her thick blanket forward, and forced herself to close her eyes. Unfortunately, Finnick unexpectedly barged into the room, causing Katniss to bang her head against the wall.

"Kade! Cato! I missed you two so much! Good morning!" Finnick's loud gesture was returned by an alarm clock being hurled at his face by the one and only Cato. Surprisingly, the alarm clock missed, damaging the wall next to Finnick and breaking into many innumerable pieces.

Angry, Cato yelled at him. "Get out," The bronze haired boy wouldn't budge. "NOW!"

"Aw, don't be like that. You know it's much better when you wake up to my gorgeous fa-" Katniss missed Cato getting off of his bed, but she did see him slam the door in Finnick's face. She watched him look around the room confused; his eyes darting from her face, to the floor, and back to her face.

"Kade," He grumbled. "Do you know what time it is?"

It seems like I'm the only one who's actually normal here... She nodded her head, taking out her pink Love Me Pony wrist watch.

"It's 6:48."

Cato shooked his head nervously at her. "Thanks."

"I still have the key! Not so dumb now, am I?" The sound of Finnick's voice could be heard as he tried opening their door.

"What, how come it doesn't work? Cato, did you change the lock? Come on!"

"Please, open the door! Do you know what it's like having Matt as a roommate?" Katniss laughed lightly at the poor boy's attempts. Cato, on the other hand, wasn't so amused. The blond was actually continuing his sleep, trying hard not to get rid of the...unwanted guest.

Apparently, the boy identified as 'Matt' responded right back to Finnick.

"Do you know what it's like having YOU as a roommate? I'd rather be locked up in a tank full of sharks. I can't believe it!" Katniss covered her ears. Their bickering was getting louder and her need to sleep was getting larger. How the hell am I suppose to sleep now?

"You've got to embrace life! It's like how I embrace being bisexual."

"Embrace my fist, idiot!"

"Ew, why would I want to embrace your fist? It's all dirty!"

Katniss groaned.

* * *

"Sleep is important! You should get some because you look exhausted, Cato." Finnick ran around the school's main pool, his arms spread out like he was flying a plane in the air. Cato watched him and rubbed his tired eyes. It's amazing how the fool hasn't even slipped yet.

"No thanks to you." Cato snarled. He tossed the sports magazine he was holding over to Peeta Mellark, his best friend who was sitting on the lounge chair next to him. The boy was settled comfortably in his seat with a pile of reading material on his lap. Meanwhile, Cato was near the breakfast buffet table; his hands clutching onto a plate of buttered toast - the simplest of all the food choices there.

"Hey, Peeta. What do you think of Kade?"

"I think he's cute, don't you?" Finnick interjected. The cheerful boy began making airplane sounds, and unintentionally pushing other students into the turquoise pool water.

"Nobody asked you, dumbass!"

Peeta took off his black sunglasses, revealing his light blue eyes which were staring cooly onto Cato's. It took a moment for his best friend to reply, but he did eventually.

"He's alright, but you might want to be careful. Remember those twins that came here three months ago? Gone within a week of their arrival."

"Nah, Kade's not like that. He's almost like a girl, isn't he?" Finnick exclaimed.

"I suppose..." Cato trailed off, unsure of what to say.

* * *

Katniss made her way across the large football field. It was the only "safe" way to get to the school's library; the place, the quiet place, to study for any upcoming tests. She clutched her textbooks to her chest. It made her think of what she had to go through a week ago, having to wrap bandages around her breasts to make them seemingly , it worked fine.

Suddenly, someone yelled at her. "Kade, watch out!"

Before she knew it, Katniss noticed an orange basketball aimed directly at her with one sole purpose - bruising her face. She ducked as the ball fell to the ground, rolling away to some other place. Without warning, Gale ran up to her. The boy was dressed unusually in plain clothes. One would think that he was part of the football team, but he wasn't.

"Sorry. Some jocks thought it would be funny to see your face...crushed." Gale tossed his wet towel over his shoulder.

It's funny to see someone get hurt? What's wrong with this school? Katniss tried hard not to appear shocked, but failed. She was bewildered. "Good to know. I'll look out for them." Her laugh was nervous and awkward-like. It was almost embarrassing.

"So, do you have a partner for the school camping trip?"

"What camping trip?"

"The one we're having tomorrow til next week, didn't anybody tell you about this?" Gale furrowed his eyebrows at her, as if she had six eyes that were staring intensely at him.

"No! No one told me about this!" Katniss panicked, losing her calm demeanor.

"Whoa, it's okay. Kade, you can always be with m-"

A loud growl in the air interrupted him. "Stay away from him, Hawthorne. I thought I told you this yesterday," Cato suddenly appeared out of nowhere behind Katniss, pushing her aside.

"Kade is with us." The grim expression on his face was almost terrifying. Cato looked angry, and he wasn't someone that anybody wanted to mess with, unless they wanted a black eye or a horrible reputation.

Gale smiled cautiously at the blond. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his faded blue jeans. "Really? Why don't we see what Kade thinks about it." The two boys turned over toward her, both wanting to know her answer.

She didn't know what to say. "Uhh...I prefer not to choose. I'll stay on my own side, thank you." Katniss tried slowly backing away, only to find another boy standing right behind her. Who could this possibly be? He had light brown hair, green eyes, and was considerably taller compared to her five foot seven height.

"Oh come on, you don't want to pass up the chance to be with Gale, don't you?" The boy smirked.

Gale looked at him with an annoyed expression. "Marvel, you make me sound like I'm dating the poor kid." He shook his head with disdain. What does he mean by KID? Sure I'm shorter, weaker, and more feminine than the other guys, but I'm defiantly not a kid!

"Now usually I'd be flirting on guys right about now, but you don't qualify on my list, Marvel." Finnick smiled cheerfully, appearing out of nowhere.

Katniss stared at the whole bunch. It was unusual witnessing a verbal battle, especially since it was around her. Alarmed, she quietly slipped away from the whole mess, and into the school building's library. Katniss raced up the marble steps and sat down in one of the nearby chairs. Dropping her books, she sighed.

What have I gotten myself into?

* * *

"Oh hey, where did Kaddy go?" Finnick bounced his head around in every direction, catching the attention of all the males present around him.

"Oh great. Now look at what you've done." Cato sneered. Gale rolled his eyes at him.

Finnick shouted loudly. "WAIT! I know EXACTLY where he is!"

"Where?"

"I don't know."


	4. Chapter 2: Alarm Clocks (OLD VERSION)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Finnick barged into the dorm room, yelling out cheerfully. "Morning you two! The weekend has finally begun!" He was rewarded with a shout from Cato, and an alarm clock hurling toward his face, also from Cato. Luckily, the alarm clock hit the wall instead. Cato growled at Finnick. "It's Saturday. GET OUT!" Katniss groggily got up, approaching the intruder with a tired expression. "Finnick?"

"Yes my dear Kade?" He smiled at her. Somehow over the portion of a few minutes, Finnick's face was at a close proximity near hers.

"Are you gay?"

He whispered in her ear seductively. "I'm bisexual, but I'd be _happy_ to turn gay for you."

Katniss couldn't respond properly. "Uhh..."

Cato roughly pushed his bed covers aside, and shoved Finnick out of the room. "We're trying to sleep!" Locking the door, he searched around the room.

"Kade, do you know what time it is?"

"Five in the morning." She laughed lightly._ If only he hadn't destroyed his clock._

"I still have the key! Not so dumb now, am I?" Finnick was babbling outside the door. Several other voices eventually joined his. "Hey Finnick. Shut the hell up!" He happily yelled back at them, unaffected by their growing anger. "Hey Matt! What's up? The birds are chirping today. We should embrace life!" His reply wasn't so nice. "Embrace my fist!"

Katniss groaned. _At this rate, I won't get any sleep at all!_

* * *

"Wow, Cato. You look exhausted!" Finnick was running around the pool. Cato watched him. _It's amazing how that idiot hasn't slipped by now._

"No thanks to you." Cato snarled. After a few brief moments of silence, which was a rare thing for Finnick, Cato spoke up. "Hey Finnick, what do you think about Kade?" The boy continued running around.

"I think he's cute. What about you?"

"He's nice, I guess. Probably just a stupid act, though. Remember those twins that were on scholarship here? Out in three days."

Finnick bumped into another student, causing the poor boy to crash into the pool water. "I think Kade's more gentle than them. Almost as if he were a girl, but that's impossible, right? I mean, no girl I know has short brown hair like he does!"

"Yeah..."

* * *

Katniss made her way across the large football field. It wasn't a very smart choice, considering that balls of all different sizes were being tossed around, but she would prefer the field over the boys locker room any day. She clutched her books to her chest. It was difficult making it flat, but she managed to with some old bandages.

"Kade, watch out!"

An orange basketball was flying directly at her. She ducked in time just as it landed onto the hard ground. Gale was jogging toward her. He was dressed very plainly. It was odd seeing him that way. So normal-looking. Gale finally caught up, towering over her with his tall frame. "Sorry. Some kid thought it would be fun to see you unconscious."

Katniss was bewildered. _It's fun to see someone get injured? What's wrong with this school?_

Gale spoke up, in hopes of trying to start a conversation. "So did you find anybody for the camping trip?"

"What camping trip?" Katniss asked shyly. She had just arrived in the school, and wasn't even prepared for any upcoming events, let alone camping. "The field trip tomorrow. Didn't someone tell you about it?" He questioned her.

"What? No! No one told me anything." She panicked, losing her calm demeanor.

"Kade, relax. If you don't have a partner, you can always be with-"

A loud growl in the air interrupted him. "Back off, Hawthorne. I thought we settled this yesterday. Kade is with us." Suddenly, Cato appeared beside Katniss' side. His appearance startled her. He looked angry, and locked his eyes onto Gale. Cato scowled whilst Gale gave him an artificial smile. "Really? Why don't we see what Kade thinks about it." The two boys turned toward her.

She didn't know what to say. "Uhh...I prefer not to choose. I'll stay on my own side, thank you." Katniss tried slowly backing away, only to find _another_ boy standing behind her. _Who could this possibly be? _He had light brown hair, green eyes, and was considerably taller compared to her five foot seven height.

"Oh come on, you don't want to pass up the chance to be with Gale, don't you?" The boy smirked, crossing his arms against his chest.

Gale looked at him with an annoyed expression. "Marvel, you make me sound like I'm dating the poor kid." He shook his head with disdain. _What does he mean by KID? Sure I'm shorter, weaker, and more feminine than the other guys, but I'm defiantly not a kid! I shouldn't say that out loud, though..._

"Now usually I'd be flirting on guys right about now, but you don't qualify on my list, Marvel." Finnick smiled cheerfully, appearing out of nowhere. Katniss stared at the whole bunch. It was unusual witnessing a verbal battle, especially since it was about her. She quietly slipped away from the whole mess, and into the school building's library. Sighing, she sat down on one of the leather couches where two other students were chatting away to each other. _What have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

"Oh hey, where did Kaddy go?" Finnick bounced his head around in every direction, catching the attention of the males present around him.

"Oh great. Now look at what you've done." Cato sneered. Gale rolled his eyes at him.

Finnick shouted loudly. "WAIT! I know EXACTLY where he is!"

"Where?"

"I don't know."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I have to say it. You all are so AMAZING! Thank you for all the alerts/favorites/etc. It truly means a lot to me. I hope this chapter answers your questions about Finnick and Katniss' hair. Also, the type of football field I am referring to in this chapter is an American football field.


	5. Chapter 3: A Close Call

**A Close Call**

Katniss struggled to pack up her things for the school camping trip. Cato was already done, but what could he possibly need to pack? The people who organized the trip announced that everything would be provided for - except the clothes. Brushing a hand through her silky hair, she reached into her shirt and opened up her Mockingjay locket. Inside was a picture of her, her mother, and sister. It was a difficult choice leaving them behind, but the Capitol had promised to deliver weekly supplies to the family in exchange for Katniss' attendance to the school. She didn't trust the Capitol, but she had to.

"Ooh, who's that?" Startled, Katniss quickly closed her locket. She turned around, staring into the eyes of Finnick. _Not him again. Please leave me alone!_

She whispered softly, "Um...no one."

"Oh come on, Kade! The girl in there was _hot_." He jumped up and down on top of Cato's bed.

Katniss blushed lightly. Then realizing what he had just said, she blurted out. "F-Finnick! That's my SISTER." Finnick banged his head against the ceiling. He sat down onto the soft mattress. Groaning, he replied back to her. "No, silly. Not the small one, the older brunette with the gorgeous hair." _Oh, Finnick..._

"That's my other sister, Finnick..."

"Mhmm, do you think I could get her phone number anytime soon?" He smiled sweetly at her.

She shook her head at him. "I don't think she'll-"

The principal spoke over the loud speaker. "Students, the buses will be arriving shortly. Please make your way to the front of the school with all of your belongings." Finnick hopped off of the bed, heading outside the door. He yelled out to her. "Don't want to be late, Kade! The bus doesn't wait for everyone!"

"Coming!" Katniss shouted, running out and into the halls with her suitcase in hand. It wasn't until shortly after she found herself staring at the large bus in front of her. Several other buses were parked around the area. They weren't regular school buses. They were luxurious _coach_ buses. Katniss would have stood there in awe had not a few other boys pushed her into the vehicle. The interior was just as spectacular. Several men and women were on board, assumed to be the staff of the bus. _Buses can have employees? Ugh, of course._

"Hello? Blocking the pathway here, idiot!" A boy with blonde hair and greenish-blue eyes shoved her into a nearby seat. Turning her head around, she saw Gale. He was relaxing at the opposite seat in front of her.

She gave him a weak wave. "Hi."

It was going to be a long ride.

* * *

Gale stared at Kade. He could tell that the boy was nervous. Clearing his throat, he rung a small silver bell. A young woman in her 20's came forward. She handed foods menus to the both of them. Gale laughed at Kade's astonished expression. Picking up the menu, he scanned over the choices. There were all different kinds of food available, though half of the students were eating pizza. Gale quickly addressed the waitress his order. She giggled at him.

"I'll have scrambled eggs, coffee, five sausage links, and bacon," Gale faced Kade. "What would you like, Kade?"

The boy seemed hopelessly lost in the large array of food choices. "I'll have toast with a glass of orange juice." The waitress nodded her head and walked away with the menus in her hands. _It's amazing how Kade can be so simple. _He admired the boy. They have only known each other for a short time, but there was something about Kade. Something different.

Folding his hands on top of the table, Gale spoke up. "Kade...about that offer yesterday. It's still up, you know." Kade stared at him.

"I don't know. Cato would be mad if he knew."

"Forget about him. So what do you say?" Gale pushed on the topic further. Kade paused. "Sure." Smiling, Gale saw as the waitress returned back with their orders in two separate lunch-bags and bottles. Kade's facial expression soon changed into a surprised one."How come the food's not on any plates?"

The woman looked at him as if he were stupid She gave him a snotty answer while dropping the items clumsily onto the table. "You all get off the bus in three minutes, not enough time to eat here." The woman excused herself, not before giving Gale a small folded piece of paper. Written in her handwriting was her phone number. Gale chuckled, clearly amused.

It wasn't until the bus came to a halt. "C'mon. We better get off now." They both made their way to the front of the bus, and slowly got off of it.

* * *

Katniss felt the cool air hit her face. The outside environment felt much better than the rich feeling the bus seemingly gave off. She saw as several groups of boys tried pitching up their tents with no success. Luckily, she had experience with these things back in District 12. _Maybe this place isn't so bad after all._ Without warning, someone tapped her shoulder. It was Gale holding a large box with the word TENT on it.

"We better get started."

_Twenty minutes later..._

Katniss and Gale stood in front of their green tent, observing their work. By the time they had finished, it was already dark outside.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" In truth, it was a pain setting up the tent altogether. The instructions were written in ten different languages with English in a _separate_ booklet hidden somewhere inside the box itself. Katniss spotted Cato quickly approaching them. He looked grim, probably flustered that his partner was Finnick. He gave them an artificial smile, putting all of his attention onto Gale.

"Good news, the camp ran out of tents so I'll be rooming in with you two tonight." He switched over to a disgusted look, and went inside the tent. Katniss followed after him. "What about Finnick?" She asked. It was a great question, but she wanted to start up a conversation.

He answered her nonchalantly. "With Marvel."

"Ah."

Cato turned himself around to face her. "Why are you with _him_?" He flickered his eyes over to Gale, who replied back to him for her.

"I asked him if he wanted to join me, Calloway. Don't be so insecure." _Since when would Cato be insecure? _She watched as Cato's hands turned into tightly formed fists.

"As if I would be insecure, Hawthorne. It's not like I'm happy to be spending the night with you...two." He slowly said the last of his sentence, looking over to Katniss.

_What exactly happened between those two?_


	6. Chapter 4: Memory

**Memory**

Katniss stared at the river in front of her. It would have been a beautiful site, but the school boys made it their mission to use the area as their very own pool. Cato was sitting on a lounge chair, chatting to the blonde boy next to him. Katniss remembered the boy from the classroom incident. It was a mystery, really. She had met the others, but not him. _Who could he possibly be? Hopefully he's not like Finnick or even Cato..._

"BOYS, time for lunch!" A large buff man holding a clipboard stood in front of the teacher's cabin. There were five long tables nearby filled with a large assortment of lunch options. Before Katniss even had the chance to check out the food, the 'pool' boys were already stampeding to the area. She jumped to the side, hoping to avoid any serious injuries. Katniss felt the hard ground against her. It was painful falling on top of it, but certainly better than being knocked over like a bowling pin.

"Are you okay?" A hand was spread out, waiting for her to grab it. She couldn't see clearly who the person was due to the shining sun, but he or she quickly came into view. The boy behind it was the same boy sitting next to Cato, and he roughly helped her up.

"I'm Peeta." He smiled warmly at her.

"Kade."

"Come on, why don't we take a walk?"

Peeta motioned for her to walk with him away from the main camp base. She waited for him to spark up a conversation, but it didn't seem like one would start anytime soon. Katniss started silently counting numbers in hopes to pass the time. Truthfully, she didn't even know why she had agreed to tag along with Peeta.

One.

Two.

Three.

It reminded her of the dancing she and Prim had done together back home in District Twelve.

* * *

_"I don't think we're doing this right, Prim!" Katniss laughed cheerfully at her sister, Primrose. The girls were circling the old floor as if they were attending a ball from a princess fairy tale. Prim stared up at her older sister, smiling as the kitchen radio was playing a long classical symphony. Their father was out working, leaving them to do whatever they wanted to._

_"Girls, I have to go visit Pat. Be careful, okay?" Their mother yelled out to them from the back door. She was carrying a hand woven basket with a checkered blanket inside, while she wrapped a colourful shawl around her broad shoulders. Prim and Katniss gave her a quick nod before continuing onto their unusual dancing._

_Prim smiled. "Let's count the steps just like how mom and dad taught us to!" Katniss didn't respond, but she did count along with Prim, who was singing out the numbers one, two, three. She twirled the little girl around. Before they could dance again together, Prim paused. She looked down onto the floor, her expression full of sadness. She whispered softly. _

_"Katniss, do you think I would make a good princess?" Katniss knelt down to meet Prim's teary eyes._

_"I think you would be a beautiful princess, Prim." The younger girl's frown soon formed into a bright smile. Prim wrapped her arms around Katniss. She was giggling as her older sister picked her up._

_"Come on, let's go surprise mother." Katniss carried Prim outside the house to the backyard. They spotted their mother on the ground. The woman turned around facing them. Her eyes were drained out of all emotion as she held out a small necklace. It was light and simple, but Katniss knew exactly whose it was. She quietly set Prim down as she raced up toward their mother, grabbing the necklace. Katniss couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. It couldn't have been him._

_Father._

* * *

Cato sat down on the edge of the river. He couldn't find Kade or Peeta anywhere. Finnick wasn't around the area either, which worried him even more. _Could Finnick have dared them to go on some dangerous search?_ Cato was panicking as he paced around, worrying about Kade. Peeta could take care of himself, but Kade...The boy seemed weak. No, he was weak. Cato shook his head several times, trying to rid his head of possible situations he could be in._What if Finnick took his flirting too far? No, he wouldn't do that. What would Kade do? What would Peeta do!_

Little did he know that he was actually talking to himself. "Where could they be?" Cato panicked even more as minutes went by and there was still no sign of Kade, Peeta, and possibly Finnick. Then, it occurred to him that there was one other person that could be capable of their disappearances. He snapped himself out of his panicking mode, and ran up to a certain student.

Gale.

Furious, Cato pushed aside Marvel and the other students surrounding the brown haired boy. "Where are they, Hawthorne?" Cato watched as the slick student shook his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Calloway."

"Of course you don't." Cato sneered, angrily clenching his jaw. It would be a disgustingly sick joke if the whole ordeal was a prank, but he didn't care. Kade wasn't like one of those ordinary goody-goodies. He wanted to know the boy more. People like him were difficult to come by.

"No, I don't. Have you been eating anything strange lately?" Gale didn't seem to be phased by his growing anger.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Hawthorne. Don't toy with me. _Where._ Are. They." He snarled viciously.

"Where are who?"

"Kade, Peeta, and Finnick!"

* * *

Katniss watched blankly as the blonde in front of her sat down onto the patchy grass, staring at the light blue sky above. It was strange watching him. Peeta was a calm person, unlike Finnick. She shuddered thinking about the bisexual boy. Katniss gently sat down next to Peeta, wrapping her arms around her knees. Her eyes felt droopy.

"Peeta, how come Cato and Gale hate each other?" It was a random and risky question all at the same time, but she wanted to know the exact reason. Maybe she could help the two talk out their problems to each other. It wouldn't be simple, but it could be possible. Katniss heard Peeta breath out loudly, probably deciding whether it would be worth it telling her the whole story.

"It was a few years ago..." _They've hated each other for years? _Katniss knew hate was all over the world, but usually for short periods of time. Not for years!

"Cato and Gale were best friends. I lived around the area and later met the two. All three of us became great friends until there was the rift. There was a new girl that moved into the neighbourhood shortly after. She was beautiful and manipulative. She came between them, toying with their feelings until it ruined their friendship completely. Cato and Gale blamed each other for what happened, but the real culprit was the girl. Ever since, they've never gotten along with each other. You can tell by the way they have their own sides now."

Katniss didn't understand. All that for a girl? It was almost pathetic, but she felt sorry for Cato and Gale. "What was her name?"

"Her name was Glimmer."


	7. Chapter 5: Bonds

**Bonds**

Katniss frowned disapprovingly. She could almost picture the girl that separated Cato and Gale for so many years. Glimmer had to be a blond with blue eyes, filthy rich, tall, and beautiful enough to manipulate so many people. In a way, Katniss had almost described Cato. He also had the same features and height, but was defiantly not manipulative. Katniss gently pulled back some short hair behind her right ear.

"Then," She paused. "What happened to her?" Katniss watched as Peeta stared at the grass moving slowly in the wind. It took a moment for him to give her a proper reply.

"She moved away. Her new home's not too far from the school, but it doesn't matter. Glimmer's the reason why all of this is even happening."

"Cato and Gale?"

"Cato is still the same. Cold and unforgiving. Gale somewhat mellowed down over the years, but he's still angry at Cato."

"But-" A startling cry broke out, interrupting Katniss' seemingly never-ending questions.

"NOOOOO! NO NO NO!" Finnick emerged out of the thick woods. He was covered in leaves and was aiming to tackle her to the floor. What could have possibly happened while we were gone? A bear?

Katniss panicked. "What's wrong, Finnick? Is everything okay?" He tackled her to floor with a horrified expression on his face.

"Kade, how could you? I can't believe you and Peeta snuck off together without me!"

"No. Finn, we weren't doing that. Peeta and I...we...we," Katniss didn't know what to say. Even she had no idea what they were doing. Apparently, she was taking too long to answer back to Finnick because Peeta decided to respond for her instead.

"were out for a walk, Finnick. Nothing to worry about." He finished as he helped her up.

"Oh, okay. Well then, I heard some of the other students chatting today. They said that Cato and Gale were going at it again because Cato thinks we're missing! Cool, huh? So did you guys try out the new lunch menu today?" Finnick started babbling about lunch, then about the weather, and the new 'target' of his list - a boy named Brandon. Katniss didn't pay attention to him though. She was too worried about Cato and Gale.

We better fix this.

She pulled on Finnick and Peeta's arms. "Come on, we better head back to camp before anything bad happens." Bad wasn't even the correct word to describe the situation.

* * *

The camp base quickly came into view. Finnick held onto Peeta tightly as Katniss led the way. Surprisingly, she remembered the path exactly, from the fallen trees to the right to the light orange tent to the left. It didn't take them long to enter the camp grounds. Katniss spotted Cato around the corner. He was obviously angry and was restrained back by two other students. Gale was in front of them with a relaxed look on his face. It's amazing at how different those two are. How could they have ever been best friends?

She started yelling out to them. "Stop! Stop!"

Cato, Gale, and the students surrounding them quickly turned their attention to her. Peeta and Finnick were trailing closely behind. Katniss approached them anxiously, wanting to explain why she, Peeta, and Finnick were seemingly missing in action. Before she could start, Cato broke free from the students holding him and ran toward her.

"Where were you?" Katniss stared into his deep blue eyes.

Anger.

Frustration.

Sadness.

Hate.

Those were probably some of the emotions he felt.

"Peeta and I went for a walk while everyone else was eating. We didn't know that Finnick was following us until later on." Katniss tried to explain the situation in the best possible way she could, but there was no use in doing so. Cato took off into their tent without a word.

"What happened?" She had managed to gasp out.

"Cato came over and started accusing me of being the cause of your supposed disappearances. It didn't take him long to start yelling." Gale leaned against the sturdy tree behind him with his hands in his pockets.

"Oh."

"Don't worry. He's just having another one of his tantrums again. Anyway, I'm going to head off for some dinner. You want anything?" Katniss sighed. How could she eat at a time like this?

She gave him a small smile. "I'm good."

Gale laughed. "I'll get you something anyway, Kade."

Oh, thank goodness.

It gave her some relief knowing that she was going to finally get something to eat, but she couldn't help feeling guilty for making Cato worry so much. The question was, why did he care so much in the first place?

Suddenly, the same buff man with the clipboard from before appeared. He had a grim expression and looked rather annoyed.

"Due to the unfortunate arrival of a few certain guests, the camping trip is canceled. Now, get yourselves on the bus in the next fifteen minutes or stay here forever." Katniss watched as four coach buses came. Several students were already heading into the bus, including Cato, Gale, Marvel, and Peeta. Somehow they had already packed up their things and closed down their tents.

"Come on, Kade. You don't want to be left behind, don't you?" Finnick laid a hand on her shoulder, urging her to go on one of the buses before him.

"I guess not." She carefully headed up bus number three's stairs, nearly tripping over someone's black pen. Cato was looking carefully out the window. To her surprise, a girl was also on the bus, and was running straight toward him. She squealed loudly, forcing him to hug her. Katniss could tell that Cato was either annoyed or uncomfortable by her presence.

"What do you want?"

"Come on. How could you forget about me so easily, Catty?" The girl twisted a strand of her hair flirtatiously at him.

Finnick bobed his head excitedly.

"Hey! Guess who's here, Kade. That's-"

There was no need for him to finish.


	8. Chapter 6: Unwanted

**Unwanted**

_"Hey! Guess who's here, Kade. That's-"_

"Glimmer." Katniss finished for him.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Sudden guess." She muttered, watching Cato push Glimmer aside. Katniss silently continued walking to a far seat in the back. She hoped to catch a few words with the unwanted, at least to her, guest on board.

"You must be Glimmer."

The blond girl didn't even face her. She was taking out a tube of lip gloss to put on while holding out a small travel-size mirror. "Yes, I am. Now go away."

"Glimmer, hi!" Finnick forced a friendly hug upon the unexpecting Glimmer, squeezing her tightly in the process. The girl lost her concentration with her cosmetic items, dropping the mirror she was holding onto the bus' floor and smearing her lip gloss across her face. Katniss laughed lightly. It was a hilarious sight.

"Get off," Glimmer yelled. Then she turned her direction toward Katniss and scowled. "What are you laughing at?"

The beauty queen suddenly gasped loudly, finally recognizing her mirror in pieces on the floor. She slowly picked up a tiny shard of glass, using it to look at her reflection. Glimmer then let out a shrill scream.

"See what you've done? I look awful!"

"Seven years of bad luck, you know." Finnick nodded to the distressed female; his head going left and right in disdain.

"You idiot! Now how will I look at myself?

"I see you haven't changed." said Peeta who was entering the conversation.

"Peeta, you'll help me won't you?" She batted her eyes at him, opening her delicate hand out for help.

Peeta leaned down, slapping her hand away. "You tore their friendship apart, Glimmer. Why would I ever want to help you?"

Katniss cringed at the tone of his voice. Peeta was absolutely furious, and he wasn't holding back on Glimmer. The blond herself got up and backed away a few steps, her eyes widening slightly at the school boy for a minute or so. But instead, Glimmer scowled at him, whisking her hand away from Peeta. The crabby girl turned around to her left, sitting down on the empty red chair. Her nasty glare was aimed directly at Peeta.

"You're such a piece of shit." she declared.

"I've always thought the same thing about you." Peeta sniped back at her.

* * *

Cato closed his eyes, leaning his head against the cold window near his seat. He was sitting alone in the back of the bus. Kade and the others were in the front with Glimmer. _Glimmer...why had she come back? She must be planning something, but what? _Cato clenched his fist against the table before him. Years ago, he had easily fallen for Glimmer's sweet and kind personality, and apparently Gale did too. But it was all a lie. She was just a manipulative _bitch_, and it was difficult to determine the reason behind any of her vast decisions.

"Cato."

The sudden sound of Gale's voice brought him back to life. He opened his eyes carefully, squinting at his rival. This conversation had to end soon.

"What do you want, Hawthorne?"

Truthfully, he was in _no_ mood to bicker with the boy, but circumstances told otherwise. He had to keep his guard up.

"I don't want to fight, Ca-"

"Don't call me that." Cato said moodily; his eyes still staring out the window.

"It's your name," Gale sighed in frustration. "Listen _Calloway_, I know we're both wondering why Glimmer's back, but-"

"Are you done yet?"

"..."

" I guess I am." Gale said. He eventually left to go chat with Marvel, leaving Cato alone to listen to the noise of vehicles passing by and to stare at an empty seat - the same seat Gale had just sat in. _What exactly did he want to say?_ The question would stay in his mind for the rest of the bus ride.

* * *

Katniss rubbed her eyes wearily. The journey back to the school was a long and tedious one. She tiredly walked down the bus' steps, listening to the crickets chirp loudly in the night. Finnick was running on the sidewalk, suddenly pulling Katniss along with him as he yelled out to no one in particular into the air. They sped across the school's grassy fields, and Katniss looked around at the quiet atmosphere. Where the heck was Finnick taking her?

"YAY!" Finnick laughed happily, twirling around a few times as if he were a ballerina.

"Where are we going?" Katniss yelled, trying not to trip on anything.

"You'll see!"

Finally, they were inside their main dorm room's building. Finnick gently stopped in his tracks, loosening his grip on Katniss' arm. The only few things in sight were two lines of dorm room doors across the walls, a snack vending machine, comfy brown chairs, and one different Finnick Odair. Katniss tightened her grip around the science textbook she carried with her. In any given situation, it may have to act as her shield. It was silly to think of Finnick attacking her, but there was always a possibility and Katniss wasn't going to take any chances. She had already done that once before.

"Finnick?"

His change of mood greatly worried her.

She repeated Finnick's name again.

"Kade..." he sighed deeply, arching his neck around to give her a sad look. "I know you're a girl."

* * *

**Author's Note: **First and foremost, I'm so sorry about the crappy length of this chapter. It had originally been rushed by me because I've been so busy lately, but I didn't want to keep you all waiting either so I posted it a bit early. However, I did leave it all at a cliff hanger and one that has to have shocked a lot of you. Leave me your thoughts in a review! I might even reply back. ;)

Stay tuned for upcoming chapters. I have a lot in stored for you.


	9. Chapter 7: Finnick, Master of Deception!

**Finnick, Master of Deception!**

Katniss stared at the once-goofy boy in front of her. Finnick looked casually relaxed, but it was all certainly in a more serious tone; It was a tone that didn't suit his character either for many of the students, _victims,_ of his were more accustomed to his flirty, bisexual self. But that didn't matter, what did matter was the fact that he knew; he _knew_ that Katniss was a girl.

"W-what?" She choked out with stubborn effort.

"Kade," Finnick started slowly, trying to calm down the atmosphere a bit. "I know that you-"

"Don't repeat it!" Katniss yelled.

"Wait..."

"Just say it!" She said impatiently.

"SO YOU ARE A GIRL?!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ABOUT THAT?!" Katniss almost shrieked; her voice equally as loud as Finnick's. It was one thing to practically scare her to death, but it was another to find out that the whole event was just a cruel joke. The ultimate question though, in her mind, was "Does Finnick really know?" Could he? Does he? Would he tell? The questions were a never-ending swirl in her mind.

"Kade! Shh, quiet down. Someone might hear us." Finnick looked around for any possible eavesdroppers. There were way too many in the school to just assume that everything was safe, especially with a gender crisis going on at the exact moment.

"Listen, Kade...I know that you're girl..." The bronze-haired boy paused to gesture his hands out to calm the distressed boy, _girl_, in front of him.

"Wait, wait! I can explain-"

"Then do so right away!"

"You see, ever since you became Cato's roommate and all, things sort of happened. N-not anything bad, of course! Just the fact that I came into your dorm room two days ago and saw you change that one time. B-but I didn't see anything, I promise. I just saw you in your pants and chest wrapped with bandages. At first I thought that you got hurt or something, but then came the _other_ reason. I'm sure you know about _that_."

He rubbed his head nervously, looking away embarrassed. It was kind of sweet to see Finnick that way, but Katniss didn't have a crush on him; he was her friend. And Cato was too...but he was a whole _other_ story.

"Finnick," She took a deep breath. "I-I believe that you didn't see anything, but you have to keep this between us only. A-and if you should know, my real name is Katniss."

"Well, Katniss," Finnick smiled at her graciously.

"I'd be happy to keep your secret, but on one condition..."

_Meanwhile..._

It was a clear ten minutes before Cato Calloway had just recovered from is shock. He had learned two very crucial things. #1. Kade is a girl and #2. Kade's real name is Katniss. He leaned against the white-colored wall behind him for support, not that he really need support, and turned his attention away from Finnick and _Katniss_. Slowly but surely, Cato took a deep breath in only to exhale out a second later.

But what Cato couldn't figure out was why he didn't feel too surprised to find out about Kade's secret. He knew Kade. It had already been around a month since his arrival, but still._Why would someone want to keep a secret like that anyway? It will defiantly take time to adjust to Katniss now.._

"Cato, I thought I'd find you here!" The disgusting voice could only belong to Glimmer, who somehow manipulated her way into the building and to the hall he was currently standing in.

Before he could react in time, the blond girl quickly pressed her warm lips against his. Cato quickly pushed her aside, wiping his lips of the horrid cherry taste from the lip gloss Glimmer was wearing with his right arm.

"What the fuck, Glimmer?" He said, wanting to strangle her to death.

A voice from across the halls spoke before Glimmer could reply back.

"Cato!?" He met the eyes of Katniss standing before him with Finnick happily tagging along the side; he was currently sucking on a green swirly lollipop.

"Kat-KADE! I was helping Glimmer tour the building today!"

"Of course he was." Glimmer commented smugly.

"Since when did you give out tours, Cato? I'd be _happy_ to join you two!" said an eager Finnick.

"You didn't hear anything, did you?" Katniss blurted out nervously. _She's still 'Kade' to everyone else though..._

"Not that I know of." Cato said, looking around anxiously.

* * *

"That was the worst moment of my entire life." _Well, the worst moment of my entire life was when dad died, but...Okay, 2nd worst moment!_ Katniss raked a hand through her brown hair. Finnick was walking alongside her to the cafeteria. She hadn't eaten anything since that morning, and the idea of going into the cafeteria alone worried her. Who know's what could've happened if she did.

"It's alright, Kade." Finnick said gently, patting her head.

"You saw them kiss, didn't you?" Katniss asked, shoving her cold hands into the pockets of her grey jacket. Her short hair was still messy, but she didn't care.

"Katni—" Katniss shot a look at him. "Alright, FINE. Kaddeee. Why are you so shocked about them kissing? They used to be together anyway."

_That's right. Why am I acting this way?_ She closed her right palm into a fist, bringing it out of its hiding spot and onto the outside of her chest where her heart was located. She felt it beat several times before taking her hand away.

"I don't know, Finn. Cato's been so...Cato...around me and yet I can't help but feel like.." It was remarkably strange talking to Finnick and having him actually listen to her, but Katniss liked it. Finnick wasn't so bad after all.

"Like you like him, right?"

"Yeah, exactly."

The pair finally entered the cafeteria, pushing the kitchen-like doors and entering an entirely different atmosphere. Katniss looked around the large room. There were dedicated students around one table discussing a book (like a book club, almost), the football team tossing water bottles, chips, and other food items to each other, and students who sat quietly alone to themselves. But the highlight of the cafeteria was Cato...and his group, _'supporters' is the better term for it'_, on one side and Gale's supporters on the other.

"Look what the cat dragged in." The voice obviously belonged to the one and only, Marvel.

"Mr. President," Finnick began with a gracious smile on his face. _Marvel is the president of the school? Lucky I wasn't there to see the election_.

"What have you been doing?"

"The usual," Marvel said, checking his fingernails with disinterest. "Hanging out with Gale, doing what my title says, and talking to commoners like _you_." He smirked at the last line like he did something of importanance.

"We're in the 21st century, Marv. There are no 'commoners' here." Gale stated, finally entering the conversation. He glanced over at Katniss, smiling.

"Hey."

"Hi." Katniss said, pushing a strand of messy hair behind her ear.

"What's up?" As always, Finnick had a way with ruining situations.

"Heard you were hosting the show tonight, Odair." Katniss eyed around the cafeteria, noticing the two different sides looking at them with daggers. _I guess it's uncommon for them to even interact with each other, huh?_

"Oh yeah! You heard about it?" Finnick bounced happily.

"When is the show anyway?" She questioned, wanting him to stop with all the...unusualness.

"Tonight at seven," Gale answered suddenly. And as if he felt Katniss raising her eyes brows at him, Gale pulled out a decorative flyer. "He hung them _all_ over the school. I don't think anyone could've missed it."

"That's right! I'm going to be Finnick, Master of Deception!" The boy stopped excitedly in his spot to do an unfitting pose and Katniss smiled slightly at him. She finally felt a feeling of normalcy; the feeling that had never really made a place in her life.


	10. Halloween Special

**Author's Note: **May also be known as Chapter 8: Moment of Arrival

* * *

**Halloween Special**

"It's Halloween!" Finnick exclaimed. He shoved his school books into his locker and slammed the door shut, smacking a large pumpkin sticker onto his locker. The hallways within the school were decorated nicely for Halloween with orange and black ribbons hanging across the walls, fake cobwebs, and students dressed in costumes ranging from gory to girly.

Katniss leaned against the lockers firmly, stopping to admire Finnick's magician costume though it was actually his_ show_ costume.

"What are you supposed to be anyway, Kade?"

"Um...Robin Hood, I guess. I wanted to make a female version of him last year but ever since coming here, I never really had the chance." She tugged at her outfit uncomfortably; her quiver filled with arrows and her left arm wielding a hand-made wooden bow made her feel somewhat vulnerable. For her attire, she wore a loose faded dark green blouse, dark cargo pants and rustic brown boots.

"Kind of seems a little off, don't you think?" Finnick said, as if scratching his head in question at her.

"Yeah," Katniss admitted, "I didn't have time to work on it so I just dumped some stuff together."

"And what about these," Finnick gently pulled out an arrow. "are they real?"

"No! The arrows aren't but the rest are. I had to make fake ones just in case the real ones would hurt someone."

"Real ones!?" The two students made their way around the halls, stopping every now and then to receive little hand-outs like flyers, cards, or other little gifts.

"Back at my home, I used to go out hunting for my family."

"Hm, you might want to avoid telling people that during the Hallo dance tonight then. A lot of the jocks freak out whenever a newcomer shows off." _They should be._ Katniss couldn't help but smile at this. Her hunting abilities were keen, but she tried to avoid using them at any cost, except maybe Halloween.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Last time, they threatened a poor kid after he boasted about knowing martial arts. Little did they know was that he only took one class."

"Glad to know that they're so secure." Katniss said mindfully.

* * *

Katniss simmered down in the silver chair. It was the hour of Finnick's magic show and the school had only given him permission to have it in the cafeteria. The master, himself, was in the very front of the room dawning a shimmery black cape, a typical magician's hat, and some kind of...wand? Katniss peered as close as she could at the stick-thing Finnich grasped in his hand. _What the heck is that?_

"Kade, nice to see you." Gale said, seating himself on the chair next to her. He didn't wear a costume.

"Nice to see you too, Gale. Did you come here to see Finnick's show?" It was a stupid question, considering the fact _why else would Gale be here in the first place?_ Katniss made a mental note to herself to work on her social skills, which were by far, the worst in the entire school. Cocking her head to the left, she noticed Cato seated a few rows back. It seemed like for the past few days he was trying to avoid her, but why?

"Yeah, I did. Finnick tends to hold all of these special events during the year. Last time, he held 'The Extravagant Odair Bake Sale' and that was somehow a huge success." The way he said it was fairly relaxed.

"Finnick? Holding a bake sale?"

"It's hard to believe, but the guy has a knack for cooking."

"Hey, haven't seen you two around in a while." Peeta spoke soundly, suddenly standing in sight of the students before him. _Peeta! Come to think of it, I haven't seen him in quite a while._

"NO DISRUPTING THE GUESTS." Finnick stalked into the area. "Oh, what's up Peeta?"

"Say, don't you have a show to attend to?"

"Right. Right. I'll see you all later then." He abruptly headed off into another direction and Katniss watched as he accidentally bumped into Marvel, who gave the humorous boy a dirty look. For a president, Marvel certainly lived up to the title. He wore a fancy white suit as he fixed his blue tie, stopping to glance at his 'leader'.

Gale ignored him, speaking up. "Don't worry about him. Marv just takes the side code too seriously."

"He was serious even back when the code never existed." Peeta stated. He crossed his arms, looking uninterested.

"Well then, I better go now. Marvel prefers that I sit with _him_ so that I don't sit with the 'enemy'."

After Gale left, Katniss found herself sitting next to none other than Peeta. She turned herself around curiously to scan the audience behind her.

"Are you looking for Cato?" Peeta questioned.

"I already saw him in the back over there. Do you know why he's been acting so strange lately?"

"Unfortunately, no. It has to be something big for Cato to be like this." he said.

Right on time, the lights dimmed quickly and the entire room quieted down as a center spotlight was aimed directly on Finnick. He was standing on the stage, setting down his magician's hat on top of a small table beside him.

"Get on with the shit show, Odair!" yelled an audience member.

Finnick paused impatiently, facing the crowd. "Security, please escort Matthew out of the room."

"As I was trying to demonstrate earlier before being rudely interrupted, I will now pull a rabbit out of this hat!" He reached in slowly only to pull out air and as soon as he did, Katniss felt something nudge softly against her ankles. She leaned down to stare under her chair, meeting the cute face of the missing rabbit. _How cute! But why hide under here?_ Katniss gently picked the small animal up and place it in her lap.

With no warning beforehand, the stage dropped its velvety red curtains revealing a large wall-sized poster of Marvel. And the president waltzed onto the stage with a microphone in hand, smirking at the baffled Finnick.

Smiling annoyingly, Finnick finally made a statement. "Excuse me, Mr. President, I believe your face is on my wall."

"I guess you didn't get the memo yet, Odair. Your show was canceled an hour ago so that my announcement could be fit in the time slot."

Clearly unhappy, Finnick jumped off the stage and walked toward the front row where Katniss and Peeta were. The boy sat down roughly in the empty seat next to Katniss, folding his arms and mumbling a few short phrases that Katniss couldn't quite understand.

"Um, Katniss..." Peeta started, uneasy. "why is there a rabbit in your lap?"

"About that..."

_The rabbit!_

She had completely forgotten about the rabbit.

* * *

Two hours after Marvel's announcement, which was unsurprisingly only about the next school election, the cafeteria was decorated for the yearly Halloween Dance. Katniss wasn't even aware tat those kind of dances existed. She gazed around the room, stopping to stare at all guys with their dates. It was a strange fact seeing them in their formal clothes especially since she was the only one left in a costume. _I suppose I'll just stand here and drink punch.._

She quietly took a glass and filled it with punch, bringing the cup to her lips. She felt the cool liquid glide down her throat until it was suddenly disrupted.

"KADE."

The gruff voice frightened Katniss, causing her to choke on her drink. She gasped out loudly, coughing in displeasure.

"Done there?"

Lifting her head up, Katniss met the eyes of Cato. He was dressed sensibly in a black suit with one of his hands tucked in a pocket while the other held onto a glass cup filled with punch.

"I-I have to talk to you."

"What is—"

A dancing couple knocked into Cato, making him lose his balance as he lunged forward to Katniss eventually connecting their lips together. The close contact lasted for only one second before both of them pulled away roughly with Cato's horrified expression and Katniss' astonished look. _What the!? What just happened!_ A couple of students whistled at them teasingly, and among the curious glances laid Gale's dismayed expression.

Shortly though, everyone returned to what they were doing.

"Sorry!" Cato blurted out, losing some of his cool.

"It-it's fine!" Katniss replied, just as shocked. "what..what did you want to tell me?"

"I..Finnick's going trick or treating today right after the dance. Do you want to come?"

_Cato. Trick or treating. Something about this line doesn't seem correct._

"Change of plans. We're going now!" Finnick barged in happily, handing them Halloween pumpkin buckets.

* * *

Finnick led the way toward a large mansion that was poorly decorated for Halloween. The big inflatable arch was almost out of air, the witch statues were on the ground sideways, and the huge candycorn pieces were scribbled all over with blue and red markers. Katniss trailed closely behind him while Cato and Peeta were trailing closely behind each other. Cato made no effort for a costume as he just improvised his suit, saying that he was a 'secret agent'. Peeta_,_ on the other hand, dressed up as Sherlock Holmes_;_he often stopped even examining random objects with a magnifying glass.

"You could've at least made an effort to get a costume, Cato!" Finnick scolded.

"I told you, I'm an agent." Cato answered nonchalantly.

"It's actually just his suit from the dance." Peeta admitted, stepping forward to ring the doorbell.

_Ding dong._

"Trick or treat!" yelled Katniss, Finnick, and Peeta. Cato stared at the individual in front of him, expecting handfuls of sweets within the next few minutes.

The assumed owner of the house was a tired looking woman, carrying her young son with one arm and holding out a bowl of candy in the other. She looked slightly impatient as if wanting the whole ordeal overwith already.

"Just take some." She said angrily; her child about to burst into tears at any moment.

The four took their portions, thanking the woman before she closed - slammed - the large doors of her mansion in front of them.

Katniss rummaged through her bucket, taking out a bag of milk chocolate Hershey Kisses.

"Ooh, that's not the only kiss we've seen today, huh Cato?"

"Don't mention it, idiot or else you'll be finding yourself with a black eye today."

"Yeah yeah. Love you too, Cato." Finnick replied, bored.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** I know it's a bit early to post a Halloween special, but I expected that many of you might be busy around Halloween Night with trick-or-treatng or with any other activities. And for some of you, hurricane Sandy may be hitting your areas soon. At the exact moment, the area where I live is already preparing. But enough of that, Happy Early Halloween everyone!

In the future, would any of you like to see more holiday specials?


	11. Chapter 9: Aftermath Effects

**Aftermath Effects**_  
_

_Saturday._

Katniss tossed the rubber blue ball against the ceiling above her. It bounced back, accidentally landing on her forehead. She groaned in brief pain and the ball rolled over on the soft bed material next to her. She thought of the night before when she and Cato had kissed by mistake. Katniss rewinded the event further back to when she was talking to Peeta. Closing her eyes, Katniss pictured it: her in her ridiculous custume sitting on the chair with Peeta in his costume sitting right next to her.

_"Um, Katniss...why is there a rabbit in your lap?"_

How had he known her name? Panicking a little, she leaned forward to the left to search through her schoolbag. Katniss rummaged through the item, and she reached in for her old phone_ - _a flip phone._ I really should get a new phone soon_, Katniss thought to herself. After clicking the home button, she searched through her contacts list, finally founding Peeta's number. Katniss dialed his phone number, pressing the phone against her ear impatiently. She bit her lip, nervous of what to say.

"_Hello_?"

"Hey, Peeta. It's me." Katniss said, sitting on her bed.

"_Kade_?"

"I need to talk to you."

"_About what_?"

"You remember the other day when we were talking during Finnick's magic show? After that, I found the rabbit underneath my chair and then you addressed me as 'Katniss'. Why is that?"

"_That's your name, isn't?_" he said.

"Well..."

She heard him sigh from the other line. "_Finnick told me about what happened earlier last week when he saw you changing in your room._"

"He did what!? But he never told me that he told you."

"_That's because he didn't mean to tell me. Finn accidentally let it slip last Thursday after babbling at lunch about some girl that would be the perfect date for Cato. Then he started talking about seeing you do strange things, and I did some research online at the school's library. There it was in the database, Katniss Everdeen, the girl who coincidently had the same last name and appearance as you, but with long hair. But I figured that it couldn't be a coincidence, could it?_"

"I don't know how my secret's getting out! First, Finnick knows and now you? What if Gale and Cato find out next?"

"_Calm down, Katniss. I won't tell anyone, but you have to promise on explaining to me your actual reason for being here and who you really are, not some kind of alias._"

_I'm Katniss Everdeen._

"I promise."

"_Then f you're not busy, do want to meet up around lunchtime today?_"

"Sure. I'd like that." Katniss smiled faintly, running a free hand through her silky brown hair. At that same moment, Cato entered the room and gave her a questioning look. Katniss pointed her index finger at him to get him to wait.

"What time do you want to meet up though?" she asked.

"_12:30? Is that a good time for you?_ _You might as well bring Finnick too._ W_e'll meet up in front of the school's library today._"

"Alright, I'll get him to tag along. I'll see you in about twenty minutes."

_"See you there._"

She hung up the phone and Katniss shoved it into the side pocket of her jeans. Cato sat across from her from his desk. He wore a striped blue polo shirt and his jeans matched them fittingly as they were a dark blue-black shade as well. She looked at him curiously, admiring his style.

"Who was that?" Cato finally spoke up.

"Peeta. We planned on meeting up around lunchtime today, and Finnick's probably coming along too."

"Since when were you all so cozy together?" he demanded, somewhat angrily.

"This is our first outing together, Cato."

"Then I'm sure you guys wouldn't mind if I tagged along as well." _I bet he's just coming because he's suspicious of us._ Katniss rolled her eyes jokingly at him and he gave her a dirty look as if he were mad, but that laughing glint in his eye told otherwise.

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind the extra guest. Come on, we should probably be heading out soon. It's almost 12:30." she got up promptly, taking a light red jacket from the closet and putting it on. The article of clothing matched sensibly with her red top. Katniss looked over at Cato, and he was already out the door waiting for her. She followed after him, but not before locking their room before leaving. And after a five-to-ten minute walk out of the building and across the school's campus, Katniss and Cato spotted Peeta and Finnick standing outside the school's library, chatting away before glancing at the pair's unexpected arrival. Finnick waved at them excitedly, and Peeta himself also waved.

"Finnick," Katniss started, surprised. "I forgot to ask you if you wanted to come! How'd you know about the meeting?"

"I had a strange feeling you guys were going somewhere, so I just decided to follow Peeta and he asked me if I wanted to join you guys."

"You decided to join too, Cato?" Peeta asked, a small smile to his lips.

"I couldn't let you guys have all the fun," he smirked at his best friend, "where are we heading off to anyway?"

"There's a bowling place not far from the school's location, and there's a mall right around the corner. We'll stop by to get some lunch first."

"How will we get there?" Katniss asked.

"We're taking my car." Cato declared, stepping over to a nearby silver convertible BMW. It shone brightly from the sun's rays, and looked brand new. Katniss gawked at the vehicle, remembering that in her younger days, owning a car was only a far away dream.

"Get in."

Cato, of course, took the driver's seat and Peeta sat next to him. Katniss, on the other hand, sat in the seat behind Peeta and Finnick sat diligently next to her. Cato started up the engine, and off they went out of the school's main parking lot. It was only an hour drive, but it felt like more especially with Finnick's constant babbling. Katniss found herself as the target of his babbling too, and meanwhile Peeta and Cato were talking about some sports event coming up within the next few days or so. But in a short while, they arrived at the large mall and Cato abruptly parked his BMW in a close parking spot. However, he actually _sped_ his car there, voluntarily taking it from a green minivan owned by a large family. Katniss watched as the male driver, _probably the dad_, rolled down his window.

"Hey buddy, you took our spot!"

"Too bad," Cato laughed, shrugging his shoulders at them. "I guess you'll just have to find another spot."

The minivan took off and Katniss could see the man driving the car flash a look at Cato. In a way, she feel a little sorry for them. They had about four kids in the car yelling and screaming, and the lady in the front was sleeping next to him, and apparently snoring loudly too.

The four students quickly got out of their car and walked over to the building, entering the Macy's department store first. Cato opened the door and passed it along to Peeta, who did the same thing for Katniss, who accidentally _didn't_ do the same for Finnick. The door slammed in his face, knocking him down over on the hard ground. She turned around sharply, apologizing several times to her injured friend in pain.

"Ow...that hurt really bad." Finnick groaned, shaking his head. He didn't injure himself, but there was enough pain to echo through his nose.

"Sorry, Finnick!" Katniss said, helping him get back on his feet. They followed their way behind Peeta and Cato, who quickly found the nearest entrance into the mall. It was extremely crowd with people walking all over the place, and Katniss caught a glimmer of the beautiful Christmas decorations hanging around the mall's large poles. Glimmer probably wasn't the best choice of words though, as the actual Glimmer, without warning, suddenly came out of nowhere, linking her arm with Cato's.

"Oh no," Peeta grumbled. "not her again."

"Nice to see you too, Peeta." She grinned, looking at him and Katniss before returning to her gaze on Cato.

She smiled sweetly up at him. "I didn't know you guys would be here. Come to do a little Christmas shopping? I know I did." In her arms hung bags of fabulous gifts she purchased from several different stores.

"Go bother someone else, Glimmer." Cato growled, pushing her off of him. "I don't need any of your sweet talk."

"Please," she said, fixing her white knitted beret. "I know you still miss me, Cato."

"Like he ever would, Glimmer!" Finnick spoke up, still holding his nose in pain.

"Stay out of this, Odair." she snipped back at him. "But since you all seem so busy, I guess I'll go away for now—"

"YES, FINALLY. Go already! Shoo. Shoo." Finnick said in disgust, gesturing for her to leave like she was some kind of pest, which in truth, she was.

Glimmer shot him a nasty face, stalking off into another direction with her bags; her brown studded biker boots clicking as she walked away.

"Let's go stop by that pizza place over there," Peeta suggested, leading the way. "I'm as hungry as hell right now."

They stopped at Pat's pizza, ordering over the counter.

"We'll have four slices of pepperoni pizza." Cato said with Peeta and Katniss nodding in agreement. Finnick, however, was upset at his choice.

"Uhm, I'll have one pizza slice with pineapples please." he ordered seriously.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't have pineapple pizza here." The young waitress apologized quickly.

"What kind of pizza place doesn't have pineapple pizza?"

"Sir, please—"

"Listen, this place just doesn't serve pineapple pizza, okay? So choose something simple—" Another waitress said, coming to the young girl's rescue.

"Like what—"

"Pepperoni pizza, like your friends over here."

"But—"

"We'll take it." Peeta interrupted, handing the cashier the cash. Their pizza was gently placed on plastic plates on trays, and the group went off in the mall's plaza to find a table. Cato took a seat near the clothing store across the area, and his friends joined him, sitting around his seat. Katniss took a bite of her pepperoni pizza, letting out a small 'mmm' at its delicious taste. Peeta and Cato had the same reaction, though Cato's was more of a 'hmph'. Finnick, moreover, cringed at his pizza slice, but still continued eating it.

"I think she gave me a burnt slice on purpose." he said, taking a sip of his sugar beverage.

"Well, you did give her a hard time." Katniss replied.

"But on the bright side, we're going bowling next!" Finnick yelled happily, earning an annoyed look from both Peeta and Cato.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Bowling chapter is next! I'm hoping to start a Christmas Special for Unnatural Appearances too and it should be after chapter 10.

Have a nice day everyone. ;)


	12. Chapter 10: Shine

**Shine**

Katniss eyed the crispy hot pile of french fries in front of her. They were the best fries she ever tasted, and they were even better than the saggy fries the local McDonald's served a block or two down the road. Katniss took a tempting fry and placed it in her mouth, gulping it down her throat as she realized that the french fries were _still_ too hot. (This is coming from a girl who waited ten minutes for the fries to cool down.) She took her bottle of sparkling water and drank some sparingly, trying to soothe her burned tongue.

"Delicious, right? The bowling place serves the best fries." _I wouldn't know. I haven't eaten one yet._ Peeta laughed, sitting calmly next to her. They were both watching Cato lift up the heavy red bowling ball, and slide it hastily down the smooth polished aisle. In a matter of minutes, all ten bowling pins were down. Finnick, who was standing up nearby, cheered loudly at Cato.

"That's your fifth strike in a row!"

"Think you can get six?" A sudden voice entered the air and from its lightly calm attitude, Katniss recognized that it belonged to no one other than Gale. She watched as he made their way toward them with Marvel and another large schoolboy, whom she had never met before, following intently behind. _They look like they're ready to beat someone up._

"Gale's gotten more than seven before," Marvel said smugly, smirking in delight. "care to challenge that, Calloway?"

"Glady." Cato responded.

"Good. Before we begin though, I just wanted to introduce you all to Thresh." Gale beamed, gesturing for his tall friend to come forward. The boy waved shyly at them. "He's a new exchange student at the school, and we were just heading off to the mall before Marvel spotted your BMW in the parking lot."

"Now then," Cato began, "how about you, Thresh, and Marvel versus me, Peeta, and..."

He glanced over once at Finnick and Katniss.

"Kade."

Katniss nearly choked on the water she drank. _I can't bowl._ In no way could she help Peeta and Cato beat Gale and his team in bowling. She would have rather let Finnick play in her place while she indulged in a nice fresh pile of french fries sitting on the glass coffee table beside her, though her tongue was still partially numb after she burned it earlier. Peeta patted her back gently for reassurance. He got up and joined Cato, who was glaring at Gale competitively with his signature red bowling ball tucked under her shoulder.

"Why not choose Finnick instead?" Katniss kindly suggested, dropping a few fries in her mouth.

"He sucks at bowling." Cato replied to her.

"I'm no better than him!"

"Well, we'll just have to see about that," Peeta chimmed in, watching their opponents with ease. "because their side's going first."

Gale went up first, landing a perfect beginning strike. Marvel cheered him on and gave him an excited high-five. Thresh, meanwhile, sat on the bench awaiting his turn. Cato went up next, rolling his bowl carefully with precision.

"STRIKE!" Finnick shouted, acting as the team's cheerleader.

Thresh's turn followed after, and he knocked over only seven out of the ten pins. Looking bored, he rolled again for the second time, hitting two out of the three down.

"Kade's next."

_Oh, god._

* * *

The ride home was a long and bumpy one, especially since the rain poured down hard. Katniss yawned tiredly in the backseat of the car. Gale's side had won the bowling match by only a few points, thanks to Katniss messing up several times during a few if not many of her turns. Cato didn't seem frustrated, thank goodness for that, though he did seem unhappy at losing to someone like Gale. Peeta, on the other hand, seemed content about spending some time with their rivals and Finnick was more than happy with his experience. He bounced up and down his seat excitedly, playing with the plaid scarf Katniss had bought him during their time walking in the mall. She ran a hand through her dark hair, hoping that they would get back to the school soon before the storm got any worse than it already had.

"I could've sworn the weatherman said that it wouldn't rain today!" Finnick said.

"_Well_, what did he say it would be?"

"Sunny all day long!"

"Finn, what channel were you on?" Peeta asked.

"19, I think."

'That's the weather channel for Canada!"

"Canada's defiantly having better weather than us right now."

The school's campus soon came into view and Cato wasted no time in parking the car in front of the library near the dorm room building.

"Hey, Kade," Finnick started. "what are you going to do over break? You know, it begins in three days."

"I'm not sure. If I go back home, then the Capitol won't keep their eyes off of me."

"What makes you say that?"

"They're the reason why I'm even attending the school, and they're providing my sisters and mother any necessities while I'm gone. One false move and I get sent back to Panem. I don't think it'd be a good idea to go back until I actually succeed in something, even if it's just winter break."

"You can't stay in the school during break though!"

"I might have to."

"No way, Kade. You can stay with—"

"me." Cato cut in.

"Cato, I was just about to offer him to stay with me!" Finnick whined.

"Kade, you're staying with me during the holidays."

"I don't want to cause you any trouble!"

"It's fine."

Katniss saw him smile lightly at her through the rear-view mirror.

"If he does anything to you that bothers you, Kade, I'm only two houses down the road."

"That _won't_ happen on _my_ watch, _Finnick_."

"Right, right."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I would have posted this up sooner, but my schedule's been so busy lately and Christmas is tomorrow too! It almost feels like the beginning of December again when I was just happy for the holiday music to return. And speaking of which, I've been listening to Jingle Bell Rock all day.

No snow for me this year, but that's okay. ;)

Many thanks to all who still support this story. It's greatly appreciated.


End file.
